Russia and Turkey are preparing an intergovernmental agreement on settlements and payments, two informed sources told Interfax.

One of them said that bilateral talks on this issue took place in Moscow and Ankara last week. A draft agreement has been drawn up and is being considered by the sides' relevant ministries, the source said.

The next meeting of the Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission on Trade-Economic Cooperation, where Russia is represented by Energy Minister Alexander Novak, will take place this week. Last October, in an interview with Business FM, Novak cited Turkey as an example of a country with which settlement in national currencies is developing. This has become a priority for the Russian authorities in recent years due to Western sanctions and periodic problems with dollar settlements.

At the beginning of June, Russia signed an analogous agreement with its biggest trade partner, China.

Turkey is a major importer of Russian gas, but the most attention-getting contract between the sides concerns Russia's deliveries of S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems. The value of the deal, which the U.S. actively criticizes, is estimated at $2.5 billion, a portion of which has been provided as a loan, according to Rostec head Sergei Chemezov. It has not been officially announced in what currency Turkey is paying for the systems, but in June, Rosoboronexport head Alexander Mikheyev said that Russia was not using the dollar or the SWIFT system for arms contracts.